Rex: I’m not saying I’m the best of all time, but I’m a great coach

Three straight seasons out of the playoffs has done nothing to diminish Jets coach Rex Ryan’s confidence.

Ryan continues to believe that he’s a great coach — and in his view, that’s not just a belief but a statement of fact.

“Do I think that I’m a great coach? I absolutely know I’m a great coach,” Ryan told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “But it’s not just about me. What makes a great coach is the people that surround you, the people that are with you every day. There’s guys that help me be a great coach. My players help me be a great coach.”

Ryan clarified that he’s not claiming he’s Vince Lombardi.

“I’m not saying that I’m the best or whatever . . . or the best of all time,” Ryan said. “I just know that I’m the best that I can be. I know that I’m willing to do the work. I may have limitations. I get that. But nobody’s going to convince me that they’re more passionate about their job than I am . . . and that they’re more passionate about their organization than me.”

Now this great coach needs his team to play like a great team — or at least a good team. If the Jets miss the playoffs for the fourth straight year, Ryan is going to be a great coach without a job.

He talks too much for sure but he is very good. What he’s done with the rosters he’s had; have to tip your hat. Couple of NFC Champ games; And that squad last year was abysmal so to go 8-8 he has done a great job.

If Rex had a top 10 QB the Jets would be a contender every year. Last year they somehow finished 8-8 with the 4th worst rookie QB EVER! Most other coaches would have finished 3-13 at best. Not a Jets fan, but a big fan of Rex.

At some point, when this idiot is finally fired, nobody else will hire him. Right? Just as bad as growing up in Phoenix and seeing all of the Cardinals “Buddy Ball” billboards in town. What is that they say about the apple? Rob is overrated too. His defenses are outside the top 15 all but maybe once or twice in his career. These two just need to go away.

He had potential maybe five or so years ago of jumping into the good column, but great….? Even back when the jets had a decent shot at making a run, he mismanaged that team, thought he was one of the players, and got out coached time and time again.
He’s about ready to be forced into a sweet gig with his brother as co-defensive coach’s of whatever team wants that set of boobs!
I’m obviously NOT a Rob or Rex fan but nonetheless, Rex has gotta be on thin ice heading into 2014, unless he has some scathing images of the jets owner…

as a ravens fan I can tell you that rex is a defensive genius and an amazing coordinator. when billick was fired I prayed that Ozzie and Steve didn’t promote him for reasons like this. he is just too far over the top and he thinks he is the star.

The Ryans think an awful lot of themselves. Let me know how many super bowls they have ever won collectively?

nyneal says:Jul 20, 2014 9:49 AM

Ryan is the apple that fell close to the tree. He’s a loud-mouthed braggart, just like his old man. His old man proved to be a good DC, but lousy HC. Ryan will end up with the same reputation.
If Ryan ever did win a Super Bowl, he’d make Cassius Clay’s rant in the ring after Sonny Liston quit in his corner in their first fixed fight look like a hiccup.
Clay ran around the ring screaming, “I am the greatest!” If Ryan ever won, I could see him doing something like that.
At least Clay/Ali was a great fighter and proved it many times.
Rex — please, stop blowing your own horn. Because when you fall flat on your face as you’ve done so many times already, it just gives Jets fans more heartaches.

Quite a few on here seem to be saying, “Look how well he has done with less than stellar players/teams. It is my understanding that head coaches have significant input into the drafting of new players and selecting free agents. That means part of the assessment of the coach would include looking at the team’s ability and make up. So when a person says Rex is a great coach stuck with a poor team, they aren’t looking at the full picture.

Because the team reflects the coach’s ability to select players, I would put him in the upper middle class overall. He gets good effort from those he selects, he just doesn’t select really high quality players.

Simple questions.. Is a great coach only one who gets to the Super Bowl? Obviously winning matters, but could a great coach be one who takes a predicted last place team and gets to .500? Have any of the “great” coaches had a qb like sanchez or smith and gotten as much out of the team? Wouldn’t it be easier to win games with a Brady or Manning versus a Sanchez? And didn’t Rex beat both Brady and Manning with Sanchez? Just wondering who had to work harder to win….. Rex has a big mouth, but he has gotten more out of marginal players than most coaches.

Rex needs to lose a job in order to learn how to tone it down. Up until now he hasn’t been fired and have to look for work. He is a classic case of a pretty good coach who is going to blow his first chance and most likely do well somewhere else. Happens all the time. Now he should go get a god damn snack.

And this folks, is why the Patriots are the class of the NFL. They never brag or boast about how good they are before the season begins (never mind the fact that they are actually the best in the league).

ccc23454 says:Jul 20, 2014 11:27 AM

when he gets fired this year maybe the best GM in league (jerry jones) will hire him. that would be awesome the best coach and GM ever together, they would dominate…lol

bradhammond says:Jul 20, 2014 11:31 AM

He’s great at picking Defensive players and having them blossom into stars – his defenses always play well. Offense? Questionable player selections, very little evidence of players learning and improving – no matter who Rex has as OC, the offense is lackluster at best. A great DC, but not so great as a head coach.

He still has a winning record as a head coach and is ranked 13th in playoff wins among active head coaches in the NFL. So he’s better than more than half of your teams you trolls root for head coaches, so to call him a bad coach makes your teams coach even worse. He also did that without a franchise QB. The 12 coaches above him all have one except Fisher. Don’t let your perception or hatred of Rex cloud your judgement of what kind of coach he is cuz facts show he can coach.

nite2al says:Jul 20, 2014 11:50 AM

Well, realistically, he may have been one great QB away from winning 3 SBs…seriously, Mark Sanchez?

He is a great Defensive coach. That’s true. But don’t run your mouth so much. It’s not even about bulletin board material. If your a professional you don’t need extra motivation to be the best and to compete hard.
He just needs to shut his mouth if he wins a Bowl as a head coach then fine let him run his mouth.. Until then shut up Rex!

“I’m not saying that I’m the best of all time, but I’m the best of all time.”

pammy6 says:Jul 20, 2014 12:46 PM

Hahaha, he inherited Mangini’s team and added a couple guys from the Ravens. Had a nice couple seasons but has done nothing for a long time. He’s a good defensive coach but any other team would of canned him a long time ago as a HC.

dolfan8385 says:Jul 20, 2014 12:47 PM

if you were you wouldn’t need to say it

jimeejohnson says:Jul 20, 2014 1:01 PM

Rex: you’re a great big, fat coach but great you are not. Jests!

richndc says:Jul 20, 2014 1:04 PM

Hubris–what the Ryan family will be remembered for, not coaching greatness. Buddy had brilliant players. Great coaches? Not if Landry, Noll, Shula, Lombardi, Belicheck, Vermeil, and dozens of others are what define greatness. Blowhardy is just that.

patriotsdefense says:Jul 20, 2014 1:23 PM

Rex is one of the better coaches in the league. The only thing that hurts him is the sideshow. Maybe he thinks it helps him get the job done, but he’s never gotten the job done actually.

Like players I feel only the elite coaches get to the Pro level. So yeah, Rex is a very good coach or he would not be coaching at the NFL. But some coaches have no idea what type of players fit the system they have. Some are still very quality coaches at the NFL level. Norv Turner simple the best offensive coordinator in football. He nows how to max/min pieces of an offensive better than anybody. However he has no fin idea how to fill out a 53 man roster. As a strickly defensive coach Rex Ryan may be better than Bellichek, however he does not understand the other aspects of the game as well as Bellichek nor does he know how to fill out a 53 man roster. But I do feel he is a great defensive coordinator, but a mediocre head coach.